Airworthiness Directives; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries MU-2B Series Airplanes

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 136 (Monday, July 17, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40389-40391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-6179]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2006-23644; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-03-AD; 
Amendment 39-14679; AD 2006-14-08]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries MU-2B 
Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The FAA adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for some 
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) MU-2B series airplanes. This AD 
requires you to verify that the current flight idle blade angles are 
set at 12 degrees. If not already set at that angle, set the flight 
idle blade angles to 12 degrees. This AD results from a recent safety 
evaluation that used a data-driven approach to analyze the design, 
operation, and maintenance of the MU-2B series airplanes in order to 
determine their safety and define what steps, if any, are necessary for 
their safe operation. Part of that evaluation was the identification of 
unsafe conditions that exist or could develop on the affected type 
design airplanes. We are issuing this AD to prevent incorrect flight 
idle blade angle settings. This unsafe condition, if not corrected, 
could lead to an asymmetric thrust situation in certain flight 
conditions, which could result in airplane controllability problems.

DATES: This AD becomes effective on August 21, 2006.
    As of August 21, 2006, the Director of the Federal Register 
approved the incorporation by reference of certain publications listed 
in the regulation.

ADDRESSES: To get the service information identified in this AD, 
contact Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc., 4951 Airport 
Parkway, Suite 800, Addison, Texas 75001; telephone: 972-934-5480; 
facsimile: 972-934-5488.
    To view the AD docket, go to the Docket Management Facility; U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 
Room PL-401, Washington, DC 20590-001 or on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number is FAA-2006-23644; Directorate 
Identifier 2006-CE-03-AD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rao Edupuganti, Aerospace Engineer, 
Fort Worth ACO, ASW-150, Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 Meacham 
Boulevard, Fort Worth, Texas 76137-4298; telephone: 817-222-5284; 
facsimile: 817-222-5960.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

    On February 3, 2006, we issued a proposal to amend part 39 of the 
Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) to include an AD that 
would apply to some MHI MU-2B series airplanes. This proposal was 
published in the Federal Register as a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) on February 9, 2006 (71 FR 6685). The NPRM proposed to require 
you to check the flight idle blade angle setting and set to 12 degrees 
if not already.

Comments

    We provided the public the opportunity to participate in developing 
this AD. The following presents the comment received on the proposal 
and FAA's response to the comment:

Comment Issue: Need for Issuance of This AD After 25 Years Since the 
Issuance of the Service Bulletin

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. questions the need for an 
AD 25 years after the service bulletin has been issued. In 1980, MHI 
(Mitsubishi Aircraft International, Inc. at the time of issuance) 
issued Service Bulletin No. SB016/61-001, dated March 18, 1980, to 
change the flight blade angles from 16 degrees to 12 degrees. The type 
certificate data sheet for the affected airplanes was also revised to 
incorporate this change, which included Note 3 to indicate a small 
group of airplanes that may not have incorporated Service Bulletin No. 
SB016/61-001. No Japanese AD was issued because no airplanes on the 
Japanese type certificate were affected by this change. The Japanese 
airplanes had already incorporated the intent of the service bulletin.
    At the time the service bulletin was issued, the FAA evaluated the 
available information and found that there were no reports of problems 
or incidents of flight idle blade angle settings with airplanes of U.S. 
registry. Therefore, we did not issue an airworthiness directive at 
that time.
    Based on information received from the safety evaluation done in 
2005 for the MU-2B series airplanes, we identified flight idle blade 
angles set at 16 degrees instead of 12 degrees as a potential problem.
    After analyzing this issue using our risk-based methodology and the 
information received from the safety evaluation, we identified that an 
unsafe

[[Page 40390]]

condition is likely to exist or develop on certain type design MU-2B 
series airplanes. Therefore, we determined that AD action was necessary 
to ensure that all affected airplanes had flight idle blade angles set 
to 12 degrees.
    We are not changing the AD as a result of this comment.

Conclusion

    We have carefully reviewed the available data and determined that 
air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD as proposed 
except for minor editorial corrections. We have determined that these 
minor corrections:
    <bullet> Are consistent with the intent that was proposed in the 
NPRM for correcting the unsafe condition; and
    <bullet> Do not add any additional burden upon the public than was 
already proposed in the NPRM.
    The Administration is committed to updating the aviation community 
of expected costs associated with the MU-2B series airplane safety 
evaluation conducted in 2005. As a result of that commitment, the 
accumulating expected costs of all ADs related to the MU-2B series 
airplane safety evaluation may be found in the Final Report section at 
the following Web site: http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/small_airplanes/cos/mu2_foia_reading_library/.

Costs of Compliance

    We estimate that this AD affects 148 airplanes in the U.S. 
registry.
    We estimate the following costs to do the modification to change 
the flight idle blade angle:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Total cost per   Total cost on
                  Labor cost                               Parts cost                airplane     U.S. operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 work-hours x $80 = $480.....................  Not applicable..................            $480         $71,040
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authority for This Rulemaking

    Title 49 of the United States Code specifies the FAA's authority to 
issue rules on aviation safety. Subtitle I, section 106 describes the 
authority of the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, 
describes in more detail the scope of the agency's authority.
    We are issuing this rulemaking under the authority described in 
subtitle VII, part A, subpart III, section 44701, ``General 
requirements.'' Under that section, Congress charges the FAA with 
promoting safe flight of civil aircraft in air commerce by prescribing 
regulations for practices, methods, and procedures the Administrator 
finds necessary for safety in air commerce. This regulation is within 
the scope of that authority because it addresses an unsafe condition 
that is likely to exist or develop on products identified in this AD.

Regulatory Findings

    We have determined that this AD will not have federalism 
implications under Executive Order 13132. This AD will not have a 
substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between 
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
    For the reasons discussed above, I certify that this AD:
    1. Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 
12866;
    2. Is not a ``significant rule'' under the DOT Regulatory Policies 
and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); and
    3. Will not have a significant economic impact, positive or 
negative, on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    We prepared a summary of the costs to comply with this AD (and 
other information as included in the Regulatory Evaluation) and placed 
it in the AD Docket. You may get a copy of this summary by sending a 
request to us at the address listed under ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket 
No. FAA-2006-23644; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-03-AD'' in your 
request.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by 
reference, Safety.

Adoption of the Amendment

0
Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, 
the Federal Aviation Administration amends part 39 of the Federal 
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) as follows:

PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

0
1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.


Sec.  39.13  [Amended]

0
2. FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by adding a new AD to read as follows:

2006-14-08 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries: Amendment 39-14679; Docket 
No. FAA-2006-23644; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-03-AD.

Effective Date

    (a) This AD becomes effective on August 21, 2006.

Affected ADs

    (b) None.

Applicability

    (c) This AD affects the following airplane models and serial 
numbers that are certificated in any category:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Model                              Serial No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) MU-2B-26A and MU-2B-40.............  321SA, 348SA, 350SA through
                                          419SA, 421SA, 422SA, and
                                          423SA.
(2) MU-2B-36A and MU-2B-60.............  661SA, 697SA through 747SA,
                                          749SA through 757SA, and 759SA
                                          through 773SA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unsafe Condition

    (d) This AD results from a recent safety evaluation that used a 
data-driven approach to analyze the design, operation, and 
maintenance of the MU-2B series airplanes in order to determine 
their safety and define what steps, if any, are necessary for their 
safe operation. Part of that evaluation was the identification of 
unsafe conditions that exist or could develop on the affected type 
design airplanes. The actions specified in this AD are intended to 
prevent incorrect flight idle blade angle settings. This unsafe 
condition, if not corrected, could lead to an asymmetric thrust 
situation in certain flight conditions, which could result in 
airplane controllability problems.

Compliance

    (e) To address this problem, you must do the following:

[[Page 40391]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Actions                 Compliance            Procedures
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Verify that the current       Within the next 100   Follow Mitsubishi
 flight idle blade angles      hours time-in-        Aircraft
 are set at 12 degrees. If     service after         International, Inc.
 not already set to 12         August 21, 2006       Service Bulletin
 degrees, set the flight       (the effective date   No. SB016/61-001,
 idle blade angles to 12       of this AD).          dated March 18,
 degrees.                                            1980.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (f) The Manager, Forth Worth Aircraft Certification Office 
(ACO), FAA, ATTN: Rao Edupuganti, Aerospace Engineer, Fort Worth 
ACO, ASW-150, Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 Meacham Boulevard, 
Fort Worth, Texas 76137-4298; telephone: 817-222-5284; facsimile: 
817-222-5960, has the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if 
requested using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19.

Material Incorporated by Reference

    (g) You must do the actions required by this AD following the 
instructions in Mitsubishi Aircraft International, Inc. Service 
Bulletin No. SB016/61-001, dated March 18, 1980. The Director of the 
Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of this 
service bulletin in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 
51. To get a copy of this service information, contact Mitsubishi 
Heavy Industries, Ltd., 4951 Airport Parkway, Suite 800, Addison, 
Texas 75001 telephone: 972-934-5480; facsimile: 972-934-5488. To 
review copies of this service information, go to the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the 
availability of this material at NARA, go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html or call (202) 741-6030. To view the AD docket, 
go to the Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-
401, Washington, DC 20590-001 or on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number is FAA-2006-23644; Directorate 
Identifier 2006-CE-03-AD.

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 5, 2006.
Kim Smith,
Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 06-6179 Filed 7-14-06; 8:45 am]
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